Rufus Wainwright will release new album ‘Folkocracy’ on June 2nd.
The new album was completed in the run up to his 50th birthday, and it finds Rufus reflecting on some of his earliest influences. The songwriter was brought up around music, with parents Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright obviously working in the folk sphere.
‘Folkocracy’ finds Rufus Wainwright paying homage to this realm, working alongside producer Mitchell Froom and a mouth-watering list of guests. He comments:
“This album is almost like a recorded birthday party and birthday present to myself. I just invited all the singers that I greatly admire and always wanted to sing with.“
A star-studded affair, the record features David Byrne, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan and many, many more all re-working some core folk texts. The closing song is a rendition of Scottish favourite ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’, featuring his sisters, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, aunt Anna McGarrigle, cousin Lily Lanken, and close family friend Chaim Tannenbaum – who plays Kate McGarrigle’s iconic banjo.
Rufus comments: “I’m so happy mum made it onto the album. Without her there would be no ‘Folkocracy’.”
The album will be released on June 2nd, and it’s led by a refreshing take on ‘Down In The Willow Garden’, alongside guest Brandi Carlile. She says:
“Singing with Rufus feels like watching birds swirl around together instinctively in flight. It’s anticipated but somehow as natural as can be. His voice is so special to me that I hear it sometimes when he’s not even singing with me. I loved every second of flying around in this music with him.”
For his part, Rufus Wainwright says…
“Brandi I see a lot, often with Joni Mitchell. I chose us a cheery little number – not! The song is so blatantly brutal and masochistic that I had to sing it with a woman. Sadly, we still live in a violent world. The amazing thing about so many folk songs is that, content wise, they sound very contemporary. Think of the gun crime in the States right now.”
Check it out now.
Tracklist:
1. Alone (Feat. Madison Cunningham)
2. Heading for Home (Feat. John Legend)
3. Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon) (Feat. Susanna Hoffs, Chris Stills & Sheryl Crow)
4. Down in the Willow Garden (Feat. Brandi Carlile)
5. Shenandoah
6. Nacht und Träume
7. Harvest (Feat. Andrew Bird & Chris Stills)
8. Going to a Town (Feat. ANOHNI)
9. High on a Rocky Ledge (Feat. David Byrne)
10. Kaulana Na Pua (Feat. Nicole Scherzinger)
11. Hush Little Baby (Feat. Martha Wainwright & Lucy Wainwright Roche)
12. Black Gold (Feat. Van Dyke Parks)
13. Cotton Eyed Joe (Feat. Chaka Khan)
14. Arthur McBridge
15. Wild Mountain Thyme (Feat. Anna McGarrigle, Chaim Tannenbaum, Lily Lanken, Lucy Wainwright Roche, & Martha Wainwright)
Photo Credit: Miranda Penn Turin
